“Study: an inevitable and committed choice willed by life. It is that way because it is that way.”

~ Falco Tarassaco

From a practical point of view, the ideal condition to grow with joy is to always be busy with something we didn’t know the day before: learn to cultivate a garden, use new computer programs, play an instrument, practice a relaxation technique, compose music, understand friends… And, in whatever you know how to do, always look for new roads not yet known: using the left hand to do something we know well how to do with the right (or vice-versa), reread a book, discover what’s hidden between the lines…

We live in a time where specialization—more accurately, hyper-specialization—is often one of the most appreciated techniques to get ahead in life. Instead, Falco loved the image of the Renaissance man: artist, scientist, politician, and philosopher devoted to multiple fields and able to unite them in a single thought. So if you are an excellent cook, don’t fear losing your art if you use your energy to become an excellent programmer, or an actor, or an educator… And if as a cook you are an expert in nouvelle cuisine, try exploring a Mediterranean diet or vegan cooking or classic dishes from South America. Each time that we research an unexplored path, we give new energy to the path we have traveled to this point, without betraying it, but instead enriching it by differentiation. Most of all, we open within ourselves innovative points of view.

In a wider context, research means constantly going in the direction of the future while living today—in the direction of expanding horizons and participating in the life of the universe. We do this by exploring ourselves as “magical” instruments and providing ourselves with new talents and new connections with the world. It is not so much about being better or to develop performance anxiety, but instead to learn how to have a mind that is always a little more open and connected to all its related parts.

“The idea of studying a technique, and then after years, making music with it is like a person studying the muscles for thirty years before using them. You miss out on the moment, on the occasion, and by the time you are ready, you are too old and can no longer run fast…”

~ Falco Tarassaco

It would be a shame to divide life up into distinct phases: a time to learn, one to apply what we learned, one to relax, and so forth. Falco loved to say we were “born on the run”. We learn things as we do them, by virtue of our experiences more than as a preventative preparation. Of course, a good doctor should study with attention before recommending a therapy to a patient and an engineer cannot learn by mistakes alone. Not even the most creative artist can rely solely on improvisation, disregarding the study of the fundamentals of the discipline. It is our commitment to things, our direct experiences and our need for answers that make us learn.

Therefore, Falco always told us to have the courage— and every once in a while, the naiveté—to jump in, to test ourselves, to dare.
If we were born on the run, then running is the thing we do best. Life is an experience that lasts as long as it can teach us something. As long as life allows, you need to preserve the spirit of the curious researcher: passionate and inexhaustible. So, what have you learned today?

This text is from the book “Falco Tarassaco-The Dream, the Message” written by Stambecco Pesco
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